UCO Hosts Griffons Friday

Central Oklahoma continues Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association play Friday when the Bronchos host Missouri Western for a 6 p.m. match at Hamilton Field House.

UCO is 14-6 on the season and 6-4 in league play, while the Griffons from St. Joseph, Mo. are 10-6 and 4-4. The Bronchos own an 11-5 lead in the series, with the last three meetings between the two all having gone to five sets.

"We've had some great matches with Missouri Western the last couple of years and I expect it will be the same this time around," head coach Edgar Miraku said. "They've got a lot of weapons and it's going to be a really tough match, but we're looking forward to it."

UCO is coming off a road sweep of Newman earlier this week. Freshman Courtney Lane had a season-high 15 kills to lead the Bronchos in that outing.

Versatile sophomore Amanda Desch continues to be the team's ringleader. She leads the team in kills (170), assists (399) and blocks (34) while ranking second in digs (217).

Lane has had five matches with 10-plus kills during her rookie campaign and is second with 146 kills, while fellow freshman Bailey Combs is hitting a team-best .302 with 134 kills. Sophomore Lauren Jenkins has chipped in 114 kills.

Dominique Lipari continues to rank among the national leaders in digs to pace UCO's back-row defense. The senior has 458 digs on the season and is averaging 6.64 per set.

Missouri Western is paced by Ali Tacuchen, who is among the league leaders in kills (195), attack percentage (.353) and blocks (54). The Griffons have also gotten 144 kills from Sam Duncan and 142 from Allie Kerns.

The Bronchos follow Friday's match with a trip to Pittsburg State next Tuesday before coming home to host Nebraska-Kearney and Fort Hays State on back-to-back days.

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Players Mentioned

#15 Amanda Desch: S; 5' 10"; Sophomore

#10 Lauren Jenkins: OH/RS; 6' 0"; Sophomore

#1 Dominique Lipari: DS/L; 5' 1"; Senior

#2 Bailey Combs: RS/OH; 5' 10"; Freshman

#11 Courtney Lane: OH/RS; 6' 0"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#15 Amanda Desch
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: S

#10 Lauren Jenkins
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: OH/RS

#1 Dominique Lipari
: 5' 1"; Senior
: DS/L

#2 Bailey Combs
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: RS/OH

#11 Courtney Lane
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: OH/RS